Will Southern Baptists drop the 'Southern'?

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

What's so "southern" about the Southern Baptist Convention, and is the name a hindrance more than a help?That's what the Christian denomination with 16 million U.S. members has been considering for the past couple of years and what Southern Baptist President Bryant Wright will speak to Monday, according to a Religion News Service story by Roy Hoffman. The denomination was created in 1845 when Northern and Southern branches "split over slavery and other issues," Hoffman writes. "The Southern branch kept its name, while Northern Baptists eventually became the American Baptist Churches USA."In recent years, Southern Baptists have apologized for the role slavery played in their church's history and they are, in fact, poised to elect the denomination's first African-American president.So why change the name?"Being Southern Baptist isn't a problem in Fairhope, Ala.," the Rev. Jerry Henry, pastor of First Baptist Church of Fairhope told Hoffman, "It's a proud thing."Elsewhere, though, Henry said, "it might turn people away."In a poll conducted by LifeWay Christian Resources, the Baptist-affiliated publisher and retailer, 44 percent of the 4,000 people surveyed outside of the South "had negative views of Southern Baptists," the article said.The church doesn't have a "name problem," the Rev. Stuart Davidson, pastor of Eastern Shore Baptist Church in Daphne, Ala., said in the article, it has "a Jesus problem" because "Christians are not acting like Christ."Davidson told Hoffman that 85 percent of Southern Baptist churches are "stagnant in their membership, or declining."The issue will be debated further at the denomination's annual June meeting in New Orleans.Peggy Fletcher Stack

Share This Article

USER COMMENTS

Reader comments on sltrib.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Salt Lake Tribune. We will delete comments containing obscenities, personal attacks and inappropriate or offensive remarks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. If you see an objectionable comment, please alert us by clicking the arrow on the upper right side of the comment and selecting "Flag comment as inappropriate". If you've recently registered with Disqus or aren't seeing your comments immediately, you may need to verify your email address. To do so, visit disqus.com/account. See more about comments here.